Improvement in knitting-machines



C. W. BLAKESLEE, E. B. BEECHER & A. G. DAVIS. 1

KNITTING MACHINE.

No. 79,897. Patented July 14, 1868.5f`-4 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES lV. BLAKESLEE ANI) A. lGr. DAVIS, OF WATERTOWNA`ND E. B. llEECllllR, OF WTESTVILLE, CONNECTICUT.

IMPROVEMENT IN KNITTlNc-MACHINES.

Specification t'orniing part ol' Letters lla-tent No. 79.897, dated July 14, 1868.

-herebydeclarethat the t'ollowin g, takenin eonnection with the drawings Ywhich laccompany and form part ot' this specification, is a deseription of our invention suicient to enable those skilled in the art to practice it.

Our improvements relate t'o that class of knitting-machines in which two straightparallel rows of needles are employed, and to both v of'which rows the same thread or yarn is delivered, first, to one row and then to the other,-

in order to knit tubular goods; andthey consist in the employment ot' an endless chain or belt as a means for operating the needle-actu ating cam; inthe combination, with this belt,

'of an arm which, while moving forward only andin a continuous circuit about the needles, shall impart a reciprocatory movement to the." yarn-delivering guide; in a provision for supporting'the traveling cam in 'ways or guides,

one of which also serves as abar or support to keep the needlesin position within the grooves in which they reciprocate; in the construction of the stops which serve to limit the size ofthe' tube to be knitted in narrowingand widening,

so that they shall perform an additional duty ofintermittently connecting and disconnecting the threadguidc with its actuating-arm; in such a construction of the bar which supports thcthread-guide and spool, and the uprights which 'sustain it, that the bar, guide, and s'pool may be removed without disturbing any other ot'themechanismtbrthepnrposeofgiving free access to the needles in setting up the work; in a removable attachment which, when applied' to the machine, serves automatically to lessen, stitch by stitch, the length of the courses when knitting a-stockingheel or similar portion of work, and inY other details hereinafter enumerated.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a perspective view ofour improved machine, and Fig. 2 a longitudinal section of the narrowing and widening device, the same device, ot' reduced size, being also shown in, Fig. l as applied tothe machine ready for use.

A is the frame ofthe machine, having vside brackets, B, by'means ot' which it may be readily secured tothe' top ot' a table or any other projecting ledge by means of set-screws C, as

shown.

D is the body ofthe machine, iliade, as shown, of oblong form and rounded ends at the base, and thence tapering upward from all points of this base, so that at'its top the sides are near to each other. A space, E, between these sides or edges affords room for the knitted fabric to drop down as fast as fabricated.

F F are parallel grooves on the sides of this Vportion of the machine, for the reception of the usual reciprocatinglatclnneedles.. These 'grooves are made Vonly on the sides, and not upon the rounded ends of this needle-frame.

A G istheneedle-actuating cam, which, by reason -ot' the rising and-falling grooves therein, causes the needles to'iisef-'and fallin succession in a. well-known manner whenever the cam is moved. This camissecured'upon oneofthe platesor links, H, of an endless chain or belt,- I, and-its lower edge is steadied and guided on either side ot' the machine by a strip, K,or by a groove, and its upper edge, runs in a guide formed by adownwa`rd-projectia g rim or flan ge, L, on across-rib, M. This lrib-lies across the range ot needles and needlelgrooves, and serves also to keep the needles in proper place. Such a flange and rib are placed on each of the opposite sides of the machine, and inasmuch as the traveling `cam in our machine leaves one ot' these ribs and passes to the other constantly during the process of knitting, it is necessary that it should be -so made as 4readily to allow the cam-plate to enter and .emerge from -the guide or groove on rib M.

Hence the entrances or mouths ofthese guides are made'flaring to insure certainty ofen gagement.

Projectingl upward fionithecam-plate is a, spring-arm, N having a projecting pin or nip. ple,0, thereon, fora purpose hereinafter stated. Upon a Vstud or shaft, O', is a many-sided wheel, P, each side coinciding in length `with each of the pla-tes or links of the chain, and to this wheel a revolving'` motion is given by means of a pinion, Q, meshing into a toothed wheel, R, to which motion is imparted by the hand-crank S.

Above theparts heretofore described, and securely fitted to the body of the machine, and at its opposite ends, are two uprights,l,whose upper ends are formed, so as to t snugly in mortises in a cross rail or bar, U, -upon which slides a thread-guide, V, and which alsocarries the spool or bohbin. The same bar also supports two adjustable' pieces, W, each of which is formed, as shown, with cam-surfaces X on their outer and opposite sides, and with a yoke, Y, capable ot' spanning across the thread-guide. A hole, Z, in the thread-guide is provided to receive the pin 0 on springarm N. The stop-pieces W have each a'springpin, fw', or other appropriate fastening device, by means of which they may he held at any desired position on the bar, this pin entering holes in the bar provided for the purpose.r Projecting downward from these stop-pieces are wires A', shaped at their bottom ends somewhat as shown. These wires serve'to support the drooping slack thread when the threadguide has reached the limit of its traverse, and prevent its getting down between the rows of needles, so that the needle in commencing would fail to take the thread, andso miss a stitch and make imperfect work.

A hook or comb-bar,`the teeth ot' which correspond with .the spaces between the needles, serves to protect or guard the work from being pulled down by the needles in their descent. These bars may be secured ina-ny proper manner, one for each row of needles; but we prefer' to lodge each in a longitudinal groove sunk in the top of the needle-frame.

B is a removable device or appenda ge,whi`cl1 we call a widening and narrowing traveler, j

and which we place upon themachinemneupon each side, whenever we wish to knit less than the entire circuit of the machine. We will describe its action-when employed fornarrowing-as, for instance, vin knitting thelieel of a stocking. It is formedto hook andride upon a toothed or ratdhet bar, B2, as shown, and serves to arrest or check the movement of the cam when it comes in contact with it, and its internal construction is such that whenever the projecting pin 4B3 on the traveling cam comes inA contact with the slide-rod B4 it will dislodge a. pawl from the ratchet-bar and force it forward one tooth, with which it then en- `gages,`while an internal "spring will, the moment the cam moves away, quickly impel the whole device one tooth forward. A similar deviceon the opposite side of the machine performs thesame duty.

It will be understood that when knitting a heel or similar piece -the cam is not required to mukea continuous path in the same direction around the frame, but7 on the coi'1trar-',arecip rocating movement is needed t'or it, which is attained by simplypturning the crank first in one direction and then in th'e other t'or the distance required.

crates to effect the purpose above stated 5 but in the one illustrated in the drawings they are as Jfollows B is a tubular piece closed at one end-and open at the other, and having a longitudinal slot to permit the thin edges of the slot to grasp and ride upon the ratchet-bar B2. A lever, 1, whose outer end is acted upon by slide-rod B4, is pivoted vatits other end to the pawl 2, around which is a coiled spring. 3 is a removable frame inserted and secured in the open end of the tube, as shown. The inner Vend of this frame is in the form of ayoke,

which spans the end of pawl 2 and bears against the coiled spring 4. A spring-piece, 5, having aA friction-roller thereon, is also affixed to this frame 3, and serves as a bearing for the underside ot'pawl 2 when the latteris put into action. Another pawl or detent, 6, pivoted, as shown, to this frame, and against which bears alight spring, 7, to press it toward the teeth of the rack, serves to prevent any back movement of the whole appendage during the period when the actuating-pawl 2 is passing from one tooth of the rack to another.

The operation of this device is as follows:

It is first placed upon the rack (whenever itis desired to knit a piece not tubular and to narrow it) and set at' such position on both sides of the machine as will allow the knitting ot' a piece of the desiredwidth at starting. The crank of the machine being then turned first in one and then in the other direction at each 'end'ofithe traverse ot' the cam, the projection B3 strikes against slide-rod B, and thus forces backthe upperend of lever i,wl'1ose lower toothed pawl is forced forward sufficiently to engage the next tooth on the rack. This action also compresses the coiled spring between a stationary bearin g formed bythe yoke above described and its movable bearing on the shank ol' the pawl which it surrounds. When the movement of the cam is reversed `its release ot'` the slide-rod enables the coiled spring to push the device along until the spring has resumed its former condition,l and this permits also the detent 6 to drop into a notch in the rack next to that it occupied before. When, therefore, the pin upon the cam cornes in contact with the slide-rod both the pawl and the detent 'resist any tendency of the device to run back upon the rack.

Itis evident that by placing other similar racks upon opposite sides of the machine, but with their teeth pointing in the other direction, this device may be used for widening as well as for narrowing.

In the form of construction of our ,machine illustrated in the drawings no needles areused except upon the sides ofthe machine. In some cases, however, we propose to use them at the ends also.

We make our endless belt or chain in any well-known 1n anncr, and may propel it by The details ot'lconstructionof this appendage may be varied so long as it opimparta reciprocating motion to the threadguide.

3. The combination of the travelingr needle Y operating cam with the guide-bars M M, with which it engages and disengages, substantially as set forth.

4. 'lhe narrowing and widening stops, constructed with cam-surfaces, as described, for

insuring the connection of the thread-guide with its driver and. its disconnection therefrom, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination Vot' the thread-guide, spool, and stops, with the removable bar which supports them,constructcd substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

6. Theco1nbination,\vitha knitting-machine,

of. a detachable-automatic traveler for narrowing and widening, actuated by a traversing finger or projection, substantially as described.

7. A narrowing and widening device constructed and operating substantially as set forth.

CHARLES V. BLAKESLEE. EBENEZER B. BEECHER. ANTHONY Gr. ])AVIS.`

Witnesses:

GALEB T. HrcKox, Amos M. J UDD, L. W. BEEGHER. 

